


oh my god, they were roommates

by bluexshift



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (everyone knew), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Dubious DIY knowledge, Food Sharing, M/M, Malec clearly paid attention in pre-school, Mutual Pining, Rating for Language, Roommates, alec is... very thirsty, author does not know how med school works, bed sharing, magnus is also very thirsty who knew, they're both at med school, umbrella sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-28 10:32:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16721655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluexshift/pseuds/bluexshift
Summary: Alec's had a crush on his best friend and roommate Magnus ever since they started college together. He always believed it was unrequited, despite his siblings' protests to the contrary - but could he have been wrong?And could the way to finding out be through his fast-growing facial hair?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I saw [this yak](http://magnuslightwoodbane.tumblr.com/image/170191894953) AGES ago (god, remember yik yak?), and couldn't not think of Malec.
> 
> I've split it up into two chapters, just to start getting it out there; chapter 2 will be here by the end of the year at the latest! It's about 75% done, so.
> 
> EDIT: we're now completed! If you like livetweeting fics, I'm tracking #GTFSroommates! 
> 
> As ever, thank you to the [sh fanfic nexus](http://shfanficnexus.tumblr.com) for being a wonderful supportive group of people, and I'm not just saying that because I put it together - it's because of y'all that I'm even close to finishing this. Special shoutout to [Sonja](http://the-roci.tumblr.com) who has been very vocal about her love for this from the beginning.
> 
> Here's a thing. If ya like it, find me on twitter @aglightwoodbane!

Alec Lightwood was really, truly, having a fucking awful day.

It started by very nearly not starting at all, given he slept through the approximately two million (or maybe five) alarms he’d set, meaning that not only did he not get a chance to shave, he also caught his _insanely_ hot roommate fresh out of the shower and doing yoga in the lounge - which he usually only did once Alec had left, out of courtesy, he guessed. Actually seeing it, instead of knowing it happened, served only to ramp up Alec’s sexual frustration, reminding him that not only was he definitely head over heels for Magnus, he hadn’t had anything resembling a sexual encounter in _years_.

Rushing out of the house with only a light jacket slung over his shoulder, he made his way down to the bodega he frequented; it was a five minute detour he probably shouldn’t take, given he had a quiz first thing, but they were the only place that sold his favourite breakfast sandwich and naturally, he’d not had time to eat.

Also naturally, they were out.

And between him entering and leaving the shop, holding his hand to his chest after receiving a nasty scratch from the usually friendly resident cat, the heavens had decided to open up. Alec sighed. At least he actually remembered to bring his jac – ah. Not his jacket. Magnus’s jacket. Magnus’s very expensive Cavalli bomber jacket.

Jesus _Christ_ , he thought.

As Alec stumbled into the lecture hall, five minutes late, hungry, out of breath and soaked to the skin, he wondered if this day could possibly get any worse.

\--

“I think you’re over-exaggerating, bro.”

“I am _not._ ” Alec switched the phone over to the other side of his face, using his dominant shoulder to force the awkward front door open. It had broken about a week ago, and neither he nor Magnus had a free day nowadays to sit in and wait for a locksmith or doorman or whoever the fuck came out to fix student housing front doors.

“So you had a shitty day, it happens right? Karma is real, Alec. Dealing with this bad day is gonna set you up for, like, a shit-ton of good days,” Jace stated, as though he had been blessed with knowing a fundamental truth of the universe, and was now graciously bestowing it upon Alec.

“Right. Because that’s how karma works,” Alec nodded a hello to Magnus, who’d previously been sitting on the couch. “I have something to ask you, Alexander,” Magnus mouthed at him, grinning widely and eyes shining as he stood. Alec’s stomach flipped and his heart leapt into his throat, and he quickly walked to the fridge, opening it and praying that the door hid his face before his blush became noticeable.

“Yup. Mark my words, Magnus is gonna ask you out tonight.”

Alec spat out the mouthful of orange juice he’d just taken.

“For fuck’s sake Jace, I don’t wanna talk about it!”

“Don’t wanna talk about what, your ridiculous crush?”

“Oh what, are we talking about his crush on Magnus? Alec, are we talking about your crush on Magnus?” he heard Izzy say in the background, and he choked a little more; half because they were openly talking about That Which Must Not Be Mentioned Yet Cannot Be Denied, and half because of the fact that Izzy and Jace were spending time together without him and he’d be surprised if he didn’t end up bailing someone out of jail tonight.

“Yeah, my- my ridiculous crush. Don’t talk about it. Not one more word.”

“Fine, but you need to-“

“Nope, that was five words, goodbye.” Alec said, and hung up, sighing dramatically. He knew they wanted him to be happy, but his life wasn’t a TV show, or mindless movie, or some kind of fanfiction where everything ended up perfect forever. Of course he’d _entertained_ thoughts of asking Magnus out and it going well, of holding hands on dinner dates, of critiquing the fashion choices of straight men on property development shows like they usually did (only this time with Magnus’s head pillowed on his lap), and of things thought only when he was alone and that made him feel guilty about even looking Magnus in the eye for at least the next day. Maybe it was the anxiety, or his predilection for pessimism, but everything in his mind told him _no._ _You’ll lose him as a friend if you cross that line. Can you really deal with being the one to ruin it all? It’d be just like you, wouldn’t it Alec? To drive away the best friend you’ve had in years because you’re a fucking dumbass._

It was a shame his body and soul didn’t want to cooperate with his mind.

“Rough day, Alexander?” he heard Magnus say as he shook the negative thoughts from his head, closer than he’d expected him to be.

“You could say that. Um, here’s your jacket, I accidentally picked it up this morning,” Alec said, turning round to face him and hand the jacket over. The greeting smile was gone, replaced with – it was still a smile, but that tight, thin-lipped smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Alec _hated_ that smile.

He didn’t think he could hate anything about Magnus, but he’d come to learn it meant he was unhappy, and trying to hide it. And he never wanted Magnus - kind, intelligent, wonderful Magnus – to be unhappy, but if he must be so, then Alec certainly didn’t want him to disregard his emotions in front of Alec.

Fuck, he was in deep. He hoped Magnus wasn’t upset about the jacket.

“I didn’t– I didn’t wear it in, in the rain or anything, I promise, I just, you know, just kept it in a bag, I’m, I’m really sorry Magnus, I-“ he trailed off, mouth still moving as he searched both his brain for words to say and Magnus’s face for a reaction. “You, uhm… was that what you wanted to ask me about?”

“Hey, no, no, it’s okay, Alec, really. I just wanted to ask if you minded me inviting Catarina over? I know we get a bit, uh… _rambunctious_ when we drink,” Magnus said, softly.

Alec huffed a laugh at that. “Yeah, of course, no need to ask. I have a free morning tomorrow anyway.” He closed the fridge door, juice carton still in hand. “I’m just gonna be in my room, are you gonna get takeout? I might jump in on that if that’s cool, depending what it is.”

“Probably,” Magnus shrugged, as he headed back to the couch. “And probably Indian. I know what you like, Alec, don’t you worry.”

Alec caught himself thinking that Magnus really, really had no idea what, or who, he liked.

\-----

He was _supposed_ to be studying in his room, but he felt far too pent up and the words were swimming around his brain after nearly two hours of staring at the pages of his textbook. Thank god Jace had gifted him with that rowing machine last Christmas; having a jock brother did have its benefits sometimes.

He lost an hour and a half to working out; his music a pleasant background noise. Doing his cooling down stretches, he felt a little more at peace, if a little stinkier. He was glad he knew Catarina well, because if Magnus had invited Raphael round for drinks, he didn’t think he could leave his room for a shower without being judged. And at least Catarina wouldn’t give two single shits about him walking around semi-naked, and he didn’t either given they were both really, really gay.

Taking his earphones out, he heard a burst of raucous laughter, and he smiled; Magnus’s uninhibited laugh was a rare and beautiful thing. He stood in the middle of his room, barely noticing the sweat cooling uncomfortably on his face and bare chest, just smiling at the thought of Magnus until the sound of the doorbell knocked him out of his reverie.

On the couch, Catarina sat with her back to the arm and legs lazily stretched across the seats. She was in her final year of nursing, yet didn’t carry the air of stress and exhaustion that the other students seemed to be weighted down with; she may have felt it, deep down, but it wasn’t noticeable over the unique aura of maternal regality she cultivated. Alec thought that that alone would make her a good nurse; her incredible skill would make her a great one.

He could hear Magnus at the door, chatting; he assumed it was the arrival of the takeout Magnus had mentioned.

“Hey, Catarina,” he smiled awkwardly.

“Alec,” she toasted him with her glass of wine.

“How’s nursing going?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s certainly something right now,” she laughed. “How about-“

She was interrupted then, by Magnus’s exuberant return.

“Here it is, Alexander, here!” he yelled excitedly, slurring a little bit on the x as he thrust a couple of unopened containers at him.

“Uhh, thanks, Magnus,” Alec forced a smile, very aware that Magnus’s hands were awfully close to his nipples. And that Magnus didn’t seem to be removing them from his nipples’ general vicinity despite Alec having taken the food – in fact, he didn’t even seem to have noticed by the way his eyes were fixated on Alec’s chest and he was squinting in confusion. Was he that drunk already? “I’m gonna, uh, leave you guys to it. Shower. Um-“

Magnus finally looked up at him then and grinned, and Alec couldn’t help his answering smile.

\---

Showered and fed, Alec buried himself back in his textbook, making pretty decent headway if he did say so himself. He distantly heard the sounds of Catarina moving about, making her intentions to leave clear, which pulled him from his bubble. Checking his watch, he realised with a start that it was already gone 2am.

Alec stuck his head around his bedroom door. “Can I walk you home, Cat?” he asked. He could see Magnus sprawled over on the sofa, Cat in the kitchen rinsing their wine glasses. Both Alec and Magnus had on several occasions insisted she needn’t bother doing it, she was a guest, it was their job, and she’d completely ignored them anyway.

“At least someone’s a gentleman,” she called over her shoulder. Magnus made some kind of noise of dissent. “That’d be nice, Alec, thank you.”

“Yeah,” he said, still looking over at Magnus’s general direction. “Gimme a sec.”

It wasn’t often Magnus got wildly drunk, usually only when he was quite upset about something, and Alec wished he knew why – but then again, Magnus was the psychiatry student, and he was the future EMT. Thank heavens Cat was here; she always curtailed his drinking, and other self-destructive impulses, as much as she could. It was tough, sometimes, because he had a tendency to get incredibly petty (amusingly so, as long as it wasn’t aimed at you), and if he felt like you were restricting him too much he would go completely off the rails as though he were attempting to ridicule you for actually bothering to care about him. He had a remarkably dim view of his own self-worth like that. Magnus’s face was currently pressed into the seat cushion, limbs sprawled wildly, and Alec knelt down so their faces were level.

“Hey, Magnus,” he said gently. “You gonna be okay?”

Magnus turned slowly, meeting Alec’s eyes, before blinking slowly and giving a small smile. “Yeah,” he murmured. Alec hummed disbelievingly.

“I’m just gonna move you a bit, okay?” he asked, waiting until Magnus made a noise of approval before putting his hands on him and moving him into a crude recovery position on the couch. He moved to stand up, but Magnus caught his hand with a speed and accuracy Alec wasn’t expecting.

“Thank you, Alexander,” he murmured, eyes remaining closed. Alec’s heart leapt, as Magnus squeezed his hand and let go, and, taking a chance, he ran his hand over Magnus’s hair soothingly.

As he grabbed his keys and jacket and slipped on his beaten up trainers, Cat joined him at the door, looking at him with an indiscernible expression on her face. “Shall we?” he said, heart beating abnormally fast. Cat smiled at him.

“We shall,” she said, linking arms with him.

They shared a walk in companionable silence, neither of them feeling the need to speak. It wasn’t a long trip, and despite the late hour the autumn air was warm following the day’s rain; the smell lingering but the humidity not too cloying. It did Alec good, to get some air; he could still feel Magnus’s soft hair against his fingers, and he longed to be able to do that regularly. He could imagine running his fingers through it whenever Magnus was stressed about exams, it tickling his face as they slept curled together, pulling it as Magnus fucked him until he scream-

 _Ah,_ he thought. _That escalated very quickly._ He tried to shake off the thought, because he knew where it would inevitably head, and it felt somewhat exploitative to jack off thinking about your currently-unconscious best friend dicking you down.

“He would have been fine, you know,” Cat’s voice cut through his Magnus-related brain fog. He’d been so lost in it he hadn’t even realised that they’d reached Cat’s shared brownstone, and were now stood at the bottom of its steps.

“Magnus,” she pressed, at his dumbfounded silence. “He wasn’t drunk enough not to get himself into a safer position – I’ve seen it a thousand times and trust him to be okay.”

Alec shrugged. “I guess I just worry. You and I both know he only drinks like that when he’s cut up about something.” He shrugged again, as Cat raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I see it now,” she said, before turning to unlock the door. “Goodnight, Alec.”

“Night,” he half-waved as she disappeared inside.

And if that cryptic sentence consumed his thoughts all the walk home, at least his mind was off Magnus.

 

Walking back in to the apartment, he thought to check on Magnus, and found him sat up, blinking in confusion.

“Hey, buddy, let’s get you to bed,” he said, kicking off his shoes and heading quickly to the kitchen, pouring out a glass of water. Moving to sit by Magnus’s side, he pressed the glass into Magnus’s hands. He didn’t drink, though; instead, Magnus was staring at Alec’s face, brow furrowed.

“You okay?” Alec asked.

“You, you have- you _gotta_ stop growing that beard, because if you get any more handsome I’m not going to be able to stand not being your boyfriend, Alexander. Heh. Alex-ANDer. Handsome Alexander,” he sounded out, his head coming to rest on Alec’s shoulder and taking no notice of the fact that Alec’s entire world had just stopped turning.

It was in a daze that he got Magnus to drink the water and got him to bed, leaving another glass and two ibuprofen on the bedside table. Could it be that Magnus reciprocated Alec’s feelings? He remembered reading once that drunk words were sober thoughts, but he didn’t know how true that saying really was. Maybe drunk words were drunk thoughts.

Maybe he’d skip shaving tomorrow, too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more notes at the end, but if you enjoy livetweeting, I'm tracking #GTFSroommates!

Alec slept through his alarms _again_ the next morning, and while he did still have the morning off, he liked to do something with it and not laze around in bed – he wasn’t a morning person by any means, but that was the kind of thing that would control you if you indulged it too much. In his mind, he had to be perpetually moving, making the best use of his time. It was residual habits left over from high school and his constant suffocating need to be the best at everything, so that no one would look too hard at him and realise he was gay – it wasn’t any of their damn business, after all.

It worked a little too well, given that when he was voted surprise homecoming King he was urged by most of the student body to kiss the Queen, Lydia. He did then ruin all his work by announcing indignantly “I’m super fucking gay, no thank you”, but that was met with even louder chants of support and he was still friends with Lydia on Facebook and he supposed that despite wasted effort, it worked out well.

Therapy was helping him shake the rest of his terrible perfectionist flaws, but he still hadn’t worked on his need to be constantly _doing_ , and figured that maybe the sense of urgency was just him.

“Oh for FUCK’s sake!” he heard Magnus yell from somewhere in the apartment, and that was definite motivation to get up and moving.

Padding out of his room in his boxers and t-shirt, he caught sight of his reflection in a picture frame. One side of his face had pillow creases marked into it, and his bedhead gave terribly inaccurate depictions of Victor Frankenstein a run for their money. He also still hadn’t shaved – he normally liked to go clean shaven, but at the rate his body hair grew, he had to shave daily. Right now, he was sporting rather impressive stubble for 24 hours’ work. He remembered Magnus’ comments from last night then; remembered exactly why he wasn’t planning on shaving. A shiver ran through him, and he wasn’t quite sure what for.

Yawning, he caught sight of Magnus struggling to shut the front door, and figured that if not a knight in shining armour, he could be a knight in half-assed pyjamas instead.

“You need a hand?” he asked, walking over to Magnus to be that hand.

“ _We_ need to get this damn thing fixed, I’m too hungover for this shit,” Magnus grumbled, indeed looking too hungover for this shit. His eyes widened ever so slightly as Alec drew near, barely noticeable to anyone who might not know Magnus as well as Alec did – even in his sleepy state he still saw.

“Yeah, but until then, there’s a trick to it. Watch,” he beckoned Magnus to step aside and let him work his botch job magic. “You gotta lift it a bit, like this, and then-“ Alec lifted it against all restrictions that would normally stop him doing so, muscles straining with the effort, and slammed the door shut as hard as he could. “If you do this on the way out you’ll have to force it open from the other side, but it works.”

He tore his eyes away from the door then, landing on Magnus, whose gaze was a little vacant and his mouth slightly open. Alec’s head tilted involuntarily – it looked as though Magnus had been staring at his arms, but Alec couldn’t comprehend why. Unless…

He flexed, ever so slightly.

Almost, but not quite, imperceptible to Alec, Magnus’s nostrils flared and his breath hitched. _Huh._ Alec tilted his head slightly.

“You got that?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, yes, I got it,” Magnus met his eyes then, offering up a small smile that actually met his eyes. “Thank you, Alexander.”

Magnus was so _close_. Their voices had dropped down to barely a murmur, and Alec could lose himself in the warm rich brown of Magnus’s eyes, could see the imperfections of his hungover-ly drawn eyeliner. Fuck, he wanted Magnus to take a step forward, wanted to be flat against the door and surrounded by him. He wanted to tell him that.

“You’re welcome,” is what he said instead, and the moment broke. Magnus winked as he headed back to his own room, and _that_ definitely did something to his insides. He sighed, running his hand over his mouth, feeling the stubble catch over his palm. He needed to get some perspective, and he knew the best way to do that.

 

_Iz, you about?_

_Yeah, I’m here. What’s up?_

_You’ll tell me if I’m being an idiot won’t you_

_At any given opportunity, but why?_

_I think Magnus might like me back_

_…alec you’re a fucking idiot_

_OF COURSE HE DOES_

_ASK HIM TF OUT_

Ugh. Objectively, he knew Izzy was probably right. Emotionally, he felt like maybe his idea about not shaving would prompt Magnus into doing something (if he truly were interested), and, well. If he and Magnus weren’t friends anymore, not only would it suck massively (given Magnus was a joy to be around and a shining light in Alec’s life), but he’d also likely have to move out. They’d gotten a great deal on this apartment and it wouldn’t be fair to his newly divorced mother to look after her eldest son again, would it?

And maybe, if Magnus made the first move, he wouldn’t have to worry himself to death about every possible outcome of any action he took.

 

It being Friday meant that Alec could go into the weekend without any real reason to shave, which helped his excuse for not doing so. He did have an interesting lunch with Jace and Izzy on Saturday, during which they interrogated him on the state of his facial hair and picked apart his flimsy reasons for the change, but Alec had learnt all of their weaknesses long ago, and knew exactly how to distract them both to get them off his back.

Sunday rolled around quicker than Alec realised or wanted; he had Renowned Asshole Professor Rey and his Renowned Asshole Quiz first thing tomorrow, and while he _knew_ the material, Rey was… an asshole, basically. Attending his lectures was an exercise in outwitting all his political machinations and always staying one step ahead of the enemy; let Rey catch you out, and you found yourself always just shy of the grade you needed to pass and get the hell out of there.

As such, he spent most of Sunday going over and over the material, bar a four hour break of Magnus’ and his favourite activity, “watch Jeopardy and yell the wrong answers out confidently”. Magnus called it Dark Jeopardy.

Either way, it was now one in the morning on Monday and Alec was ready to drop dead where he stood, and figured it was time to give up for the night. He went through his entire night routine, which was a fancy way of saying he took off his pants and brushed his teeth, before making his way to the kitchen and returning with a large glass of water. The glass was large even in comparison to his hands – Izzy had bought it for him once claiming a two-pint glass was the only size that suited him.

He yawned, unable to shake the imprint of various medical diagrams and pictures of injured people swimming in front of his eyes; it wasn’t exactly prime-time bed thoughts, after all. He was so focused on trying to push images of exposed bone out of his brain, that he completely missed that he was walking on his discarded pants, too exhausted to put them in the laundry basket like usual. He definitely noticed them, though, when his feet got tangled and he upended the entire glass all over his bed.

He let out a string of curses as he went down, entirely too loudly for the time of night, before crashing down on the floor beside it, glass miraculously still in hand.

“Alexander?”

“Hhhhhhhhnnnnngggggg,” groaned Alec, face pressed into the floor.

“Are you alright?” He was fine, his only wound his pride, and gave Magnus a thumbs up to tell him so. He hoped the gesture would convey the sentiment as well as “leave me here to die in shame, thanks, you can have the gym set”, but even he knew it was a tall order without busting out some ASL – and that would probably involve getting up.

Magnus, kind-hearted as he was and rarely able to leave someone in need if he could make it his responsibility, had reached Alec’s side without him even really registering it. “Alec? Do you need anything?” he said, his voice as soft and gentle as his hand on Alec’s shoulder. Alec wished for a moment that he was actually hurt so he could keep it there.

“I need the sweet release of death.”

Magnus snorted. “I can get you a band-aid.”

Alec rolled over, grinning up at Magnus who was trying and failing to hide his amusement. “If you loved me, you’d kill me.”

“I know I’m a bit odd like this, but I quite like you alive.”

“You’re odd in a lot of ways. It’s why we’re… us.” Alec began to prop himself up as he said this, too tired to slam down on his mental filter. His filter was solid, hard built, but it had a Magnus-shaped hole and more and more frequently it felt like more hole than wall.

“Oh,” was all he heard Magnus say, who had taken a step back as he also stood, keeping his hand on Alec’s shoulder. Alec sighed, looking down at the scene of his own misfortune, hoping that he wasn’t looking at the early signs of a repeat of his Thursday from hell.

“Thank god for spare bedding, at least,” he commiserated. Annoyingly, his long limbs didn’t make it any easier or less mind-dumbing to change bedding; what he gained in fitted sheet proficiency, he lost in duvet wrangling. Alec rolled his shoulders, making his way out his room to their shared linen cupboard – most everything in their apartment was shared, and Alec never could quite work out where the line between simply roommates and actually cohabiting was situated.

“Alexander, your mattress is soaked,” Magnus called out from the doorway of Alec’s room.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Oh, the couch, your only option,” Magnus wailed, playing the part of some kind of… wilting damsel? Whatever it was, it felt like it should be on a chaise lounge fanning itself over ‘the horrors’ it had seen. “If only there was some other bed in this apartment that is perfectly sized and criminally comfortable, but alas!”

“Magnus.”

“Yes dear?”

Alec knew full well what Magnus was getting at, and he _knew_ that it wouldn’t be weird if he did, given they’ve definitely fallen asleep together before, but he felt he should at least put up some kind of protest. He’d never quite been able to kick his unfortunate habit of self-flagellation in the attempt to make himself be less of a burden to others. “I can’t just take up your bed because I’m – some kind of fool in a man’s shoes. I know you’ve got class early tomorrow too.”

“I do, but I also know you’ve got Rey tomorrow, and you need to sleep properly and not on that shitty thing. God, do you even fit without having to bend double?” Alec didn’t fit on the couch at all, not really, but he was fast running out of excuses not to do what he actually, really, desperately wanted to do.

“I- well, it’s your-“

“Get in the fucking bed Alexander.”

”Yeah, okay.”

He followed Magnus into his room – whilst the two of them were closer than most, and did occasionally enter each other’s bedrooms, they mostly didn’t. The living room and kitchen was a joint space, but it was an unspoken agreement that their bedrooms were their own, a space to retreat from everything. And if either one was holed up in there for longer than usual, it was nearly a tradition to knock on the door and offer the occupant their favourite tub of Ben & Jerry’s.

Magnus’s room was the very definition of organized chaos to Alec; everything was neat and tidy, but there was a whole lot of it. Magnus knew where everything went, though – Alec had had to learn his system when it came to navigating their kitchen cupboards, and still occasionally found pickled eggs when he was looking for flour.

“I don’t know about you, Alexander, but I am just ready to pass out,” said Magnus, climbing into the side of the bed he’d just vacated. Alec gingerly lifted the covers on the other side, hesitating a moment.

“You’re letting the warm escape, darling.”

“Right,” Alec quickly responding, actually getting into the bed and settling on his side. He could feel Magnus radiating warmth, could smell his body wash. He was so close to him like this, but rather than it making Alec clam up, he felt… comfortable. It was as though his body had decided that his ideal state was to be as close to Magnus as possible, as though that was where he _should be_. The thought should have scared him.

It didn’t.

“Goodnight Magnus. Thank you,” he said, voice hushed so as not to break the stillness.

“Of course, Alexander,” Magnus mumbled back, clearly already halfway back to asleep. “G’night.”

 

Alec awoke to the piercing shrill of a familiar alarm – not surprising, given Magnus and Alec had bought the same alarm clock in different colours – yet it took him a moment to register where he was. He was warm, comfortably so, and his back didn’t ache the way it usually did in the morning (he really ought to get a new mattress). His nose was pressed into something firm yet giving, warm and smooth, and his arms were wrapped around, and legs tangled with, something similar.

That similar… _thing_ moved to hit the alarm button, and Alec’s brain finally engaged enough to realise he was clinging to Magnus like a lifeline, and that Magnus up until that point had been holding him back just as tightly.

It wasn’t like Magnus to not be fully up and awake already; he barely slept more than six hours a night, much to Alec’s chagrin. While Alec knew he pushed himself too hard with work, Magnus threw all of himself into everything he did, work or leisure, so long as he cared about it – and Magnus was one of the most caring people he knew. It was probably why he loved him so much, Alec thought.

Wait, he also thought. Love?

“Alec. Comfy as this is, you’ve got to go deal with Lorenzo bastarding Rey.”

“Nnyeehhhhhhhhh,” Alec sounded out, before reluctantly disentangling their limbs. “He is a bastard.”

Magnus yawned. “I’m in Brocelind building for my last class today, wanna meet and walk back together?”

Rey _was_ a bastard, for many reasons, but Alec felt like making him leave Magnus to get ready was his most unforgivable sin. His second one was that Alec’s facial hair had now grown to the unruly side of stubble, and Rey would definitely use it against him – reasoning that he wasn’t putting in “required effort to look presentable in class”. The promise of giving him another terrible review on ratemyprofessors.com wasn’t quite enough to justify Rey potentially deliberately failing him on the quiz he’d spent so long studying for.

So, he shaved. And found almost immediately that he really quite missed his beard.

 

“Oh, you shaved,” was the first thing Magnus said to him later that evening, as he met him leaving Alec’s lecture hall.

“Hello to you too Magnus,” he said, making a stab for annoyed but only managing a grin in his direction.

“Hello is outdated as a greeting, Alexander. Live in the now. Like, _now_ we get to go home and get out of this wet weather.”

“Well, you shoulda lead with that one,” Alec said. “Did you bring an umbrella? ‘Cause I didn’t.”

Magnus sighed and shook his head, pulling his small umbrella out of his satchel. “Of course I did. Always be prepared. Come on, we’ll share.”

The umbrella really was small, especially for two grown men as big as they were. It was lucky Magnus was very nearly as tall as he was, Alec thought, otherwise he’d be bending over as well as being practically glued to Magnus. They both had their bodies slanted at an angle, chests facing each other and shielding themselves from the worst of the rain and wind. Magnus had moved his arm to make more room for Alec, which he was very grateful for, but the alternative place for it to go had been around Alec, hand on his back keeping them close.

Alec’s heart was racing at their proximity, but again he felt nothing other than a sense of _right._ The two of them walked the fifteen minutes home in comfortable silence, no need to say anything, simply enjoying the other’s companionship. They had always been like that, content just to simply be.

Small and cramped as it was, the umbrella had helped, and they arrived home mostly dry – Alec got a little damp stepping out of cover to force the door open, but that aside, mostly dry.

“I have a recipe I want to try out, any plans for dinner?” Magnus called from the kitchen as Alec shrugged off his coat.

“Do I ever have plans for dinner?” was Alec’s response.

“Only with me,” Magnus called back. “Hope you like carbs!”

Who doesn’t like carbs? Alec thought to himself.

By carbs, it turns out Magnus had meant an entire large bowl of potatoes. “Indonesian sautéed potatoes,” he’d said, brandishing them with a proud look on his face. “Share bowl, though.”

“That’s fine, I don’t think even I can eat the whole bowl,” Alec said. The potatoes were cut into wedges, fried in soy sauce, by the smell. They were salty and sweet and spicy, and Alec definitely didn’t miss the significance of Magnus sharing a dish from his first home with him.

Sat on the couch facing each other, backs against the armrests, they ate their way through starch and soy quicker than perhaps recommended, until the last one was left. Alec reached for it, that satisfying last bite – but Magnus was quicker. With an impish look on his face, he grabbed the food and held it high above his head.

“Come get it, Alexander,” he teased.

This wasn’t new to them; they did it a lot sharing food, no matter who had gone for the last piece of anything. Neither of them knew where the game had come from, just that they were loathe to give it up – especially with them both being, as Magnus’s friend Raphael had once said, “competitive little shits”.

Alec smirked, knocking the bowl to the carpet as he leapt forward, practically straddling Magnus as he reached up to grab the wedge from his hands. The thrill of the game meant he barely even noticed their proximity; Alec’s knees either side of Magnus, chests and stomach pressed together, and faces barely an inch apart.

Magnus was laughing, though, which set Alec off into low giggles, as he made another swipe at the food. He succeeded in getting Magnus to let go – and resolutely failed to catch it in return. The potato dropped onto the floor, ending their game with a draw.

“Ah, fuck,” Alec said, before realising how close they were. Magnus was everywhere around him, arm around his waist, and the brown of his eyes was captivating him, holding his entire vision. He watched as Magnus in turn noticed their position, watched his pupils dilate.

 _He likes me back, beard or no beard_ , was Alec’s epiphany, and the way forward was obvious.

Alec leaned in just a fraction and pressed their lips together.

Kissing Magnus was everything he’d hoped for and more than he could have imagined. His lips were soft, and parted for him, everything tasting as rich as their shared meal had. Magnus’s other hand moved down to cup the back of Alec’s head, as they both moved together, sitting back upright and yet not moving more than an inch away from each other at any one time.

Alec’s lips moved of their own accord; it was like he and Magnus had been kissing all their lives, so in-tune with each other. It was Magnus who first slipped his tongue forward; their brushing together overwhelmed Alec with pure _emotion_ that he couldn’t help but gasp and break the kiss.

Magnus pulled away first, the pleased haze in his eyes quickly becoming panic. “Oh. Oh lord, Alexander, I’m so sorry, I just- I’ve liked you since I first met you, and I thought that… I know you have a crush on someone else-“

He cut off as Alec pressed a soft, quick kiss to his lips. The kiss barely lasted a second, but Alec didn’t pull away, resting their foreheads together as he spoke against Magnus’s mouth.

“There is no one else, it’s you. It’s only ever been you.”

“Oh.” Magnus voice was impossibly soft, incredulous in its tone.

“Yeah, I mean – I kissed you. My crush was always on you. You’re… I think you’re incredible, Magnus. Since meeting you, I haven’t _seen_ another guy the way I see you. I don’t know if I can.”

“Alexander, I…” Magnus trailed off, chewing on his lip, a nervous habit Alec had never seen him do before. “What now? Should we, I don’t know… go on a date?”

Alec grinned. “If by date, you mean Dark Jeopardy again right now as boyfriends, then…”

Magnus smiled back, eyes shining with happiness. Alec felt a strange, clashing mix of giddy and calm, and utter, utter joy, as Magnus shuffled himself over to lay his head on Alec’s shoulder, just like they’d done a hundred times before, except this time, Alec reached up and gently ran his fingers through Magnus’s soft hair.

“Dark Jeopardy it is, _boyfriend._ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I feel so fluffy inside. FYI, the dish Magnus makes is part of something I made for the Shadowcooks cookbook - [which is here!](http://www.lulu.com/shop/a-project-created-by-fans/shadowcooks-hunters-of-good-taste/ebook/product-23762194.html)
> 
> I've had an especially lovely response to this one and I hope that you all like how it's ended. My next plan will be to work on the next chapter of All in the Gutter if you're waiting for that one!


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